The Presidency on Trial

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The Presidency on Trial
Assessing the Limits of Presidential Power
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"Just so you know, we're ashamed the
President of the United States is from
Texas."Natalie Maines, lead singer of the Dixie
Chicks, at a concert in London (March 10, 2003)
The Dixie Chicks in concert, 2003
President Bush delivering the State of the Union
Address, 2003
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Not Ready to Make NiceRecorded by the Dixie
Chicks, 2006

• Forgive, sounds good.
• Forget, I'm not sure I could.
• They say time heals everything,
• But I'm still waiting
• I'm through, with doubt,
• There's nothing left for me to figure out,
• I've paid a price, and I'll keep paying

• I'm not ready to make nice,
• I'm not ready to back down,
• I'm still mad as
• And I don't have time
• To go round and round and round
• It's too late to make it right
• I probably wouldn't if I could
• Cause I'm mad as
• Can't bring myself to do what it is
• You think I should

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• that she ought to hate a perfect stranger.
• And how in the world
• Can the words that I said
• Send somebody so over the edge
• That they'd write me a letter
• Saying that I better shut up and sing
• Or my life will be over

• I know you said
• Why can't you just get over it,
• It turned my whole world around
• and I kind of like it
• I made my bed, and I sleep like a baby,
• With no regrets and I don't mind saying,
• It's a sad sad story
• That a mother will teach her daughter

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• I'm not ready to
• make nice,
• I'm not ready to back down,
• I'm still mad as
• And I don't have time
• To go round and round and round

• It's too late to make it right
• I probably wouldn't if I could
• Cause I'm mad as
• Can't bring myself to do what it is
• You think I should
• (Repeat)

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• Forgive, sounds good.
• Forget, I'm not sure I could.
• They say time heals everything,
• But I'm still waiting

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The Dixie Chicks George W. BushQuestions
for Discussion

• What do you think this song is about i.e. whats
  going on?
• What do you think is the overall message of the
  songwriter?

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The Dixie Chicks George W. BushQuestions for
Discussion

• In your opinion, did the Dixie Chicks have a
  right to criticize the president in a time of
  war?
• Do country music stations and fans have a right
  to boycott Dixie Chicks music?
• How does this song, as well as other actions
  taken by entertainers and the media, serve as a
  check on presidential power?

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Formal Checks on Presidential Power
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Congressional Checks on the President(Article I)

• Make laws (ex War Powers Resolution)
• Override presidential vetoes
• Power to declare war
• Power of the purse (taxes and funding)
• Regulation of the land and naval forces

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Congressional Checks (cont.)

• Impeachment Power (House)
• Impeachment Trial (Senate)

President Clintons impeachment trial, January,
1999
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Limits on Presidential Power (Article II)

• President elected indirectly by the people
  through the Electoral College
• Selection of president (House) in case of no
  majority of electoral vote
• President must deliver State of the Union address
  
• Senate approves treaties and ambassadors

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Limits on Presidential Power (Article II)

• Senate approves department appointments
• Advice and consent of federal judge
  appointments (Senate)

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testifies at
her Senate Foreign Relations Committee
confirmation hearing, January, 2005.
Nominee for Chief Justice, John Roberts is sworn
in at his Senate Judiciary committee confirmation
hearing, September, 2005.
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Judicial Checks on the President

• Judicial review (Marbury v. Madison)
• Chief Justice presides over presidential
  impeachment trial (Article I)

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Constitutional Amendments

• 12th Choosing president vice-
  president on separate ballots
• 20th Presidential succession
• 22nd Presidential term limits (2 terms 10
  years total)
• 25th Presidential disability and succession

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Limits on Presidential Power Informal Checks
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Public Opinion
In a televised address in March, 1968, President
Johnson announced he would not seek the
Democratic nomination for president due to
sagging public support for his administration and
the war in Vietnam.
Though he enjoyed record public support during
the Persian Gulf War, President George H. W.
Bush saw his numbers dip dramatically in the
polls and he lost his re-election bid to
democrat Bill Clinton in 1992.
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The Media
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Partisan Politics
Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National
Committee and vigorous critic of the Bush
administration, May, 2005
Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R) battles
President Bill Clinton (D) over the
national budget resulting in the shutdown of the
federal government in 1995
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Congressional Investigations
Senate Banking Committee begins its investigative
hearings on the Whitewater scandal during the
Clinton administration (1994)
Oliver North testifies before Congress at the
Iran-Contra hearings during the Reagan
administration (1987)
Former FEMA director Michael Brown testifies
before the House Select Committee on Hurricane
Katrina, Sept., 2002
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Interest Groups NGOs
The National Right to Life Committee and other
pro-life interest groups spoke out against
President Clintons veto of the ban on partial
birth abortion, 1996
The National Organization of Women, Cindy
Sheehan, and others protest the war in Iraq,
April, 2006
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Title "Bill Clinton's Christmas present from the
U.S. House."
Artist John Pritchett Date unknown Source
http//www.pritchettcartoons.com/gift.htm
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Title The Madness of King George"
Artist Drew Sheneman, The Newark Star Ledger
Date December, 2005 Source http//www.cagle.com
/news/DomesticSpying/1.asp